Most people drive cars fueled by gasoline. Some people drive gas-electric hybrids. Almost no one drives a purely electric car but that is what companies are starting to make. We need these cars because our current cars damage the environment and we will run out of oil someday.
A Newsweek article called "Time for a Trade-In" by Daniel Lyons talked about how hybrids are becoming obsolete. Lyons said, "A new generation of carmakers is shunning the traditional hybrid format in favor of pure electric powertrains (driven completely by batteries) or 'plug-in hybrids.'" A change to only using electic cars will not happen for a very long time but companies such as Chevrolet and Toyota are starting to look into it. "The Chevrolet Volt (due out in 2011) uses a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but General Motors calls it an 'extended-range electric vehicle.'" Also, "Toyota is doing research on lithium-ion batteries, and plans a plug-in hybrid prototype for next year."
Tesla Motors is also making electric cars. Their Model S can travel up to 300 miles and has a 45 minute quick charge. The Roadster gets 244 miles per charge and can go 0-60 in under 4 seconds. That's fast! These cars are perfectly clean with zero emissions and they are extremely cool looking. The only downside is the Roadster is about $100,000 and the Model S is about $50,000.
I think everyone should buy an electric car. They are good for the environment and you never have to buy gas. Gas powered cars are a thing of the past.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
#13 5/5/09 Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is when a family member or partner hurts another. This includes husbands, wives, children, parents, ex-boyfriends or girlfriends, and many other people that are very close to you. Domestic violence is not restricted to physical violence. It includes emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and even threats. Domestic violence is horrible and unfortunately, it is fairly common. According to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, "Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States."
In scene three of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Stella came home during one of Mitch's poker parties. He had been drinking and losing and he was getting mad. Mitch hit Stella. I thought that something like that would usually end a relationship but certain context clues made it clear that domestic violence was a frequent occurrence in their home. Stella just left until things cooled down and later that night she slept with Mitch. Stella's reaction shocked me. She acted like it didn't happen. If a husband was beating his wife today, he would go to jail and they would get a divorce.
Do not let Stella's reaction fool you. Domestic violence is a major problem. No one should hurt someone close to them in any way. Sometimes I get mad at my family members but I would never hurt them.
What do you think about domestic violence? Should Stella stay with Mitch anyway? Why would anyone want to hurt their spouse or family member?
In scene three of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, Stella came home during one of Mitch's poker parties. He had been drinking and losing and he was getting mad. Mitch hit Stella. I thought that something like that would usually end a relationship but certain context clues made it clear that domestic violence was a frequent occurrence in their home. Stella just left until things cooled down and later that night she slept with Mitch. Stella's reaction shocked me. She acted like it didn't happen. If a husband was beating his wife today, he would go to jail and they would get a divorce.
Do not let Stella's reaction fool you. Domestic violence is a major problem. No one should hurt someone close to them in any way. Sometimes I get mad at my family members but I would never hurt them.
What do you think about domestic violence? Should Stella stay with Mitch anyway? Why would anyone want to hurt their spouse or family member?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
#12 4/28/09 God Is Not Back
Because I like to keep myself so up to date on the news, I dusted off last week's Newsweek and started flipping through the pages to look at the pictures. I stopped on a page with a picture of Wolverine on it and was thinking to myself how cool it would be to have claws. On that same page was an article entitled "Modernity's Worldwide Belief Boom" that was about a new book, God Is Back, by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge.
God Is Back is about how "as the world grows more modern, it also becomes more religious." It talked about how globalization, politics, democracy, and the economic crisis are positively impacting people's perspectives on religion. People are using religion as "a shield against the modern world" and as "a way to get ahead." Micklethwait and Wooldridge belive the majority of people are religious and are devout in their faith.
I disagree with Wooldridge and Micklethwait. Most of the people that I know either do not believe in God or do not care enough to attend mass regularly. Maybe they have surveyed more people than I have but it seems like this new generation is caring less and less about God and turning more towards facts and reason. An example is from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. Hessler visited China with the Peace Corps. He went to mass every Sunday and the only people there were very old women. Also, he noticed that the younger generation did not care about traditions or religion.
God is not back.
God Is Back is about how "as the world grows more modern, it also becomes more religious." It talked about how globalization, politics, democracy, and the economic crisis are positively impacting people's perspectives on religion. People are using religion as "a shield against the modern world" and as "a way to get ahead." Micklethwait and Wooldridge belive the majority of people are religious and are devout in their faith.
I disagree with Wooldridge and Micklethwait. Most of the people that I know either do not believe in God or do not care enough to attend mass regularly. Maybe they have surveyed more people than I have but it seems like this new generation is caring less and less about God and turning more towards facts and reason. An example is from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze. Hessler visited China with the Peace Corps. He went to mass every Sunday and the only people there were very old women. Also, he noticed that the younger generation did not care about traditions or religion.
God is not back.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
#11 4/21/09 Welcome to the Gun Show
The April 20 Newsweek had an interesting article about gun control called "Obama Gets Gun-Shy" by Michael Isikoff and Suzanne Smalley. Some people want assault weapons banned and others want to be able to own these guns. Obama had a campaign promise to ban assault weapons but he wants to stay out of it and deal with more pressing matters such as the economy.
The pro gun control people say that when people have guns, they shoot other people. This article told the story of Richard Poplawski who killed three police officers. They think no one should have guns because of guys like this. The anti gun control people say that just because one in a million people decide to kill someone, that shouldn't ruin it for everyone.
I agree with the anti gun control people and the NRA. First, most people won't kill anyone and second, I think that if assault weapons are banned, people will just get them illegally. That is what the Mexican drug cartels are doing. Also, the second amendment says that we can own guns. We might need to defend ourselves and AK-47s would do the job nicely.
Maybe we can compromise and instead of making assault weapons completely illegal, there can be more thorough background checks. Someone should make sure that people that buy guns aren't insane like Richard Poplawski. According to the article, there is "a gaping loophole that permits people to purchase arms at gun shows without background checks." That just seems unbelievable to me.
What do you think should be done about gun control?
The pro gun control people say that when people have guns, they shoot other people. This article told the story of Richard Poplawski who killed three police officers. They think no one should have guns because of guys like this. The anti gun control people say that just because one in a million people decide to kill someone, that shouldn't ruin it for everyone.
I agree with the anti gun control people and the NRA. First, most people won't kill anyone and second, I think that if assault weapons are banned, people will just get them illegally. That is what the Mexican drug cartels are doing. Also, the second amendment says that we can own guns. We might need to defend ourselves and AK-47s would do the job nicely.
Maybe we can compromise and instead of making assault weapons completely illegal, there can be more thorough background checks. Someone should make sure that people that buy guns aren't insane like Richard Poplawski. According to the article, there is "a gaping loophole that permits people to purchase arms at gun shows without background checks." That just seems unbelievable to me.
What do you think should be done about gun control?
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Forum Post #5
I think everyone is guilty of wanting more than we need. Huang Xiaoqiang is a great example of this. He owns a great restaurant called the Students' Home. He has a big apartment, a driver's license, a color TV, a public telephone, a stereo, and a camera. He also has a big family that supports him. His parents, wife, sister, and son help with the work at the restaurant. Yet, with all this, he still finds plenty to complain about and to want. He wants a videodisc player, a cell phone, a car, and more money. He complains that his life is hard even though all he does is make dumplings and let his mom and wife do the rest.
We have so much but we never take the time to be thankful for it. Lots of people around the world's main concern in a day is if they will have anything to eat. We never have that problem. We are concerned about having the new coolest cell phone or ipod. We need to remind ourselves how fortunate we are and how easy our life is.
We have so much but we never take the time to be thankful for it. Lots of people around the world's main concern in a day is if they will have anything to eat. We never have that problem. We are concerned about having the new coolest cell phone or ipod. We need to remind ourselves how fortunate we are and how easy our life is.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
#10 3/31/09 Threat to Capitalism
I was reading an article in the March 30 Newsweek called “Don't Let the 'Big Men' Win,” by Michael Kazin. It gave a little history lesson of the Great Depression and talked about the AIG bonuses and how they could be a threat to capitalism. It was wrong for them to use the money that way but I do not think the bonuses are a threat to capitalism. Companies can do whatever they want with their money because in a capitalist system, the government doesn’t get involved. The threat to capitalism isn’t the bonuses; it is the government giving out money to companies in the first place.
I have been reading about the current situation with GM. Basically, they were given billions of dollars and Obama had the CEO, Rick Wagoner, resign. Now, Obama is developing a plan for GM on how to save their company. Stuff like this is the real threat to capitalism. The government came in and took total control. This is socialism.
The Newsweek talked about Dorothea Lange’s picture of a sign saying, “THIS IS YOUR COUNTRY. DON'T LET THE BIG MEN TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU.” The biggest man, President Obama, is taking our country’s capitalist system away. I think it is wrong that the government is intervening so much.
I have been reading about the current situation with GM. Basically, they were given billions of dollars and Obama had the CEO, Rick Wagoner, resign. Now, Obama is developing a plan for GM on how to save their company. Stuff like this is the real threat to capitalism. The government came in and took total control. This is socialism.
The Newsweek talked about Dorothea Lange’s picture of a sign saying, “THIS IS YOUR COUNTRY. DON'T LET THE BIG MEN TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU.” The biggest man, President Obama, is taking our country’s capitalist system away. I think it is wrong that the government is intervening so much.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
#9 3/24/09 Spend Money
The March 23 Newsweek had a very interesting article called, "Stop Saving Now!," by Daniel Gross. The article said that because of the recession, people are not spending any money so businesses don't get any customers so the economy gets worse. Gross said, "If everyone saves during a slack period, economic activity will decrease, thus making everyone poorer." People think they are doing the right thing by saving money but it would actually be better for the economy and the country as a whole if people weren't so thrifty.
"Hoarders must open their wallets and become consumers, and businesses must once again be willing to roll the dice. Nobody is advocating a return to the debt-fueled days of 4,000-square-foot second homes, $1,000 handbags and $6 specialty coffees. But in our economy, in which 70 percent of activity is derived from consumers, we do need our neighbors to spend." I know that money doesn't grow on trees but if we have a little extra laying around, spend it and remind yourself that you just helped everyone out by pumping money back into the economy.
"Hoarders must open their wallets and become consumers, and businesses must once again be willing to roll the dice. Nobody is advocating a return to the debt-fueled days of 4,000-square-foot second homes, $1,000 handbags and $6 specialty coffees. But in our economy, in which 70 percent of activity is derived from consumers, we do need our neighbors to spend." I know that money doesn't grow on trees but if we have a little extra laying around, spend it and remind yourself that you just helped everyone out by pumping money back into the economy.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
#8 3/17/09 The Recession and the Environment
We are currently in an economic recession. Some people may even call it a depression, but some people are crazy. You may think that nothing good can come from a recession like this. I thought everthing about it was bad until I read the Newsweek article called "The Recession's Green Lining" by Sharon Begley from the March 16 issue. The article talked about how the global recession is closing dirty, pollution-emitting factories. These factories would be operating right now, pumping toxins into the air, if it wasn't for the economic crisis, which forced them to close.
Begley specifically talked about the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, located in Siberia. The mill had a terrible smell, it put chemicals into the air and water, and the pollution was killing plants and animals, including the nerpa, the world's only freshwater seal. The article said the mill "has been belching foul-smelling sulfates into the air and chlorides, phenols and other chemicals into the lake since it was built during the Cold War." The people living there were mad about all the damage it was causing to their area and to Lake Baikal. Environmentalists were trying to shut down the mill for years but were unsuccessful. Then, with the recession and a loss of business and funding, the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill closed and will hopefully never open again. In the article, Marina Rikhvanova, the head of the environmental group, Baikal Wave, said, "The economic crisis worked like magic." Environmentalists rejoice! We can't afford to keep open factories!
China, India, the United States, and many other manufacturing countries have closed many plants and cut pollution drastically. But, when we come out of this recession, the factories will probably open back up and start killing animals and melting the ozone layer all over again. I think we need to use this time to find alternatives to our current factory production methods. We have to come up with new ways to make the same supplies but with less damage to the environment. Pulp and paper mills like the one in Siberia could find alternatives to the chemicals they treat the raw materials with. Other factories could use solar or wind power as fuel. The government could make stricter rules and regulations about pollution. After the recession, we can not go back to how factories used to be.
Begley specifically talked about the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, located in Siberia. The mill had a terrible smell, it put chemicals into the air and water, and the pollution was killing plants and animals, including the nerpa, the world's only freshwater seal. The article said the mill "has been belching foul-smelling sulfates into the air and chlorides, phenols and other chemicals into the lake since it was built during the Cold War." The people living there were mad about all the damage it was causing to their area and to Lake Baikal. Environmentalists were trying to shut down the mill for years but were unsuccessful. Then, with the recession and a loss of business and funding, the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill closed and will hopefully never open again. In the article, Marina Rikhvanova, the head of the environmental group, Baikal Wave, said, "The economic crisis worked like magic." Environmentalists rejoice! We can't afford to keep open factories!
China, India, the United States, and many other manufacturing countries have closed many plants and cut pollution drastically. But, when we come out of this recession, the factories will probably open back up and start killing animals and melting the ozone layer all over again. I think we need to use this time to find alternatives to our current factory production methods. We have to come up with new ways to make the same supplies but with less damage to the environment. Pulp and paper mills like the one in Siberia could find alternatives to the chemicals they treat the raw materials with. Other factories could use solar or wind power as fuel. The government could make stricter rules and regulations about pollution. After the recession, we can not go back to how factories used to be.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
#7 3/10/09 Pirates
Piracy may seem like a thing of the past but it is still happening around the world. It is a major problem off the coast of Somalia. The pirates steal ships and hold the crew and cargo ransom.
These aren't the peg-legged, eyepatch wearing, parrot sitting on their shoulders pirates like there used to be. The Somali pirates work in crews of fishermen, militiamen, and techological experts. They use fishing boats and other small boats to get next to the ship and then they climb on. Armed with sub-machine guns, rocket launchers, and hand guns, these pirates are not to be messed with. They take the crew hostage and hijack the ship and hold it for millions of dollars ransom.
One ship the pirates took was the Sirius Star. It is a Saudi-Arabian oil tanker that was holding $100 million worth of oil. The pirates were paid $25 million for the ship and crew. Another was a Ukrainian ship called the Faina that was filled with guns, grenade launchers, ammunition, and tanks. In the article "Somali Pirates Capture Tanks and Global Notice" by Jeffrey Gettleman, an anonymous Western diplomat says, "If there are tanks on board, I don't think there's a chance in hell they can get them unloaded." It is worth $30 million and the ransom has still not been paid but the United States Navy is chasing after it.
Some ships hire bodyguards but they haven't been successful in stopping the attacks. Now, many countries send their navies to patrol the waters in that area to ensure that this doesn't happen anymore. Along with their navies, I think countries need to send their militaries to stop the source of the pirates on land. We can't just sit around and do nothing because innocent people are going to get hurt. The pirates will never be truly stopped until we get to the heart of the problem.
So, what do you think needs to be done about the pirate attacks?
These aren't the peg-legged, eyepatch wearing, parrot sitting on their shoulders pirates like there used to be. The Somali pirates work in crews of fishermen, militiamen, and techological experts. They use fishing boats and other small boats to get next to the ship and then they climb on. Armed with sub-machine guns, rocket launchers, and hand guns, these pirates are not to be messed with. They take the crew hostage and hijack the ship and hold it for millions of dollars ransom.
One ship the pirates took was the Sirius Star. It is a Saudi-Arabian oil tanker that was holding $100 million worth of oil. The pirates were paid $25 million for the ship and crew. Another was a Ukrainian ship called the Faina that was filled with guns, grenade launchers, ammunition, and tanks. In the article "Somali Pirates Capture Tanks and Global Notice" by Jeffrey Gettleman, an anonymous Western diplomat says, "If there are tanks on board, I don't think there's a chance in hell they can get them unloaded." It is worth $30 million and the ransom has still not been paid but the United States Navy is chasing after it.
Some ships hire bodyguards but they haven't been successful in stopping the attacks. Now, many countries send their navies to patrol the waters in that area to ensure that this doesn't happen anymore. Along with their navies, I think countries need to send their militaries to stop the source of the pirates on land. We can't just sit around and do nothing because innocent people are going to get hurt. The pirates will never be truly stopped until we get to the heart of the problem.
So, what do you think needs to be done about the pirate attacks?
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
#6 3/3/09 Time Squad
A long time ago, when I was nine years old, there was a TV show on Cartoon Network called "Time Squad" that I watched all the time. It was funny and educational!
According to the Wikipedia article about Time Squad, "Time is like a rope, and, as it is woven at one end, ages and gradually unravels and frays at the other. In the context of the show, this often means that historical figures have made different, and often anachronistic, choices in life, and as such will not be able to fulfill the role that history says they fulfilled." Basically, historical figures messed up big time and it was Time Squad's job to clean up their mess.
Time Squad consisted of a buff man named Buck Tuddrussel who was in charge of the team, a robot named Larry 3000, and an orphan boy named Otto Osworth. It was a goofy group but they always got the job done.
One person they helped was Eli Whitney. He invented flesh eating robots instead of the cotton gin. They really had to fix that! Another was Edgar Allen Poe. Instead of writing dark, scary poetry, he was really happy and writing children books. The Time Squad simply could not let Poe enjoy life. They had to make him suffer and hate the world so he would write poems like "The Raven." They did. Good thing they did because otherwise, juniors in Honors English would not have the pleasure of reading Poe's poems and searching for literary devices. Yay Time Squad!
According to the Wikipedia article about Time Squad, "Time is like a rope, and, as it is woven at one end, ages and gradually unravels and frays at the other. In the context of the show, this often means that historical figures have made different, and often anachronistic, choices in life, and as such will not be able to fulfill the role that history says they fulfilled." Basically, historical figures messed up big time and it was Time Squad's job to clean up their mess.
Time Squad consisted of a buff man named Buck Tuddrussel who was in charge of the team, a robot named Larry 3000, and an orphan boy named Otto Osworth. It was a goofy group but they always got the job done.
One person they helped was Eli Whitney. He invented flesh eating robots instead of the cotton gin. They really had to fix that! Another was Edgar Allen Poe. Instead of writing dark, scary poetry, he was really happy and writing children books. The Time Squad simply could not let Poe enjoy life. They had to make him suffer and hate the world so he would write poems like "The Raven." They did. Good thing they did because otherwise, juniors in Honors English would not have the pleasure of reading Poe's poems and searching for literary devices. Yay Time Squad!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
#5 2/24/09 Brownies
I ate some delicious brownies and I thought to myself, "Why don't my brownies turn out that good?" I looked up brownies on the computer and along with recipes, I discovered that a brownie is a mythical creature. Who knew?
According to Steve at the Mythical Creature A Day blog, "A brownie is a type of folklore creature that usually inhabits houses, performing a variety of different types of chores in exchange for small gifts or food. They do not like being seen and will typically only work at night and live in unused parts of the house. They reportedly love porridge and are considered good natured."
I recently attended a march in San Francisco to help hotel workers get a decent wage. If I was the hotel manager, I wouldn't deal with the workers. I would fire them and hire some brownies. The brownies would work all night cleaning up after the guests and I'm sure porridge and honey are cheaper than minimum wage.
So, my advice to hotel managers and managers in general, hire some brownies. But be careful, these are not the kind you eat!
For more information on brownies go here.
According to Steve at the Mythical Creature A Day blog, "A brownie is a type of folklore creature that usually inhabits houses, performing a variety of different types of chores in exchange for small gifts or food. They do not like being seen and will typically only work at night and live in unused parts of the house. They reportedly love porridge and are considered good natured."
I recently attended a march in San Francisco to help hotel workers get a decent wage. If I was the hotel manager, I wouldn't deal with the workers. I would fire them and hire some brownies. The brownies would work all night cleaning up after the guests and I'm sure porridge and honey are cheaper than minimum wage.
So, my advice to hotel managers and managers in general, hire some brownies. But be careful, these are not the kind you eat!
For more information on brownies go here.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
#4 2/17/09 Canada and Our Bailout Plan
The February 16 Newsweek magazine had an interesting article about Canada's banking system entitled "Worthwhile Canadian Initiative." As Fareed Zakaria, the author this article, put it, “Guess which country, alone in the industrialized world, has not faced a single bank failure, calls for bailouts or government intervention in the financial or mortgage sectors. Yup, it's Canada.”
Canada is flourishing in the current economic crisis for a number of reasons. Their banks are leveraged at 18 to 1 where U.S. banks are at 26 to 1. They have a system that works much better than social security and their house prices didn’t drop as badly as in the United States. Also, they have smarter rules about immigration and health care. Canadians don’t mess around when it comes to their economy.
We should take some of Canada’s ideas. They are clearly doing a better job at handling this situation than we are. Why not use their bank system, taxes, health care system, and immigration policies as a model for our own?
Now we have this ridiculous bailout plan that was supposed to jump-start the economy but it probably won’t work and future generations will just end up paying it off. Instead of using the money for silly programs, we should have taken the 700 billion dollars and divided it so that every person in America would get an equal share. There are a little over 300 million people in the United States. 700 billion divided by 300 million is around $2,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. Imagine if every person in your family was given a check for 2,000 dollars. That would get our economy going really quickly because everyone would start buying stuff again and then there would be demand for jobs so people could go back to work.
“So what accounts for the genius of the Canadians? Common sense.” We need some common sense when thinking about our economy and our bailout plan.
Canada is flourishing in the current economic crisis for a number of reasons. Their banks are leveraged at 18 to 1 where U.S. banks are at 26 to 1. They have a system that works much better than social security and their house prices didn’t drop as badly as in the United States. Also, they have smarter rules about immigration and health care. Canadians don’t mess around when it comes to their economy.
We should take some of Canada’s ideas. They are clearly doing a better job at handling this situation than we are. Why not use their bank system, taxes, health care system, and immigration policies as a model for our own?
Now we have this ridiculous bailout plan that was supposed to jump-start the economy but it probably won’t work and future generations will just end up paying it off. Instead of using the money for silly programs, we should have taken the 700 billion dollars and divided it so that every person in America would get an equal share. There are a little over 300 million people in the United States. 700 billion divided by 300 million is around $2,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. Imagine if every person in your family was given a check for 2,000 dollars. That would get our economy going really quickly because everyone would start buying stuff again and then there would be demand for jobs so people could go back to work.
“So what accounts for the genius of the Canadians? Common sense.” We need some common sense when thinking about our economy and our bailout plan.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
#3 2/10/09 Star Trek
I watched an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called "The Drumhead." I had never seen Star Trek before and I was a tid bit confused by all the different species so I looked them up on the Star Trek wiki. In "The Drumhead," there were humans, Klingons, and Betazoids. Romulans were the bad guys but they were not in the episode.
Klingons are a barbaric, warrior race with dark brown skin. They have what appears to be a small mountain range on their foreheads. Klingons are friends to the humans aboard the USS Enterprise.
Betazoids are people that look almost identical to humans. They are can communicate telepathically and they can sense other peoples' emotions. This unique ability came in handy during the trials when trying to figure out if Tarses was lying. Like the Klingons, they are friends to the Federation.
Romulans have pointed ears and eye brows that are angled upwards. They are at war with the Federation so it was really bad that the spy was able to give them important information.
Klingons are a barbaric, warrior race with dark brown skin. They have what appears to be a small mountain range on their foreheads. Klingons are friends to the humans aboard the USS Enterprise.
Betazoids are people that look almost identical to humans. They are can communicate telepathically and they can sense other peoples' emotions. This unique ability came in handy during the trials when trying to figure out if Tarses was lying. Like the Klingons, they are friends to the Federation.
Romulans have pointed ears and eye brows that are angled upwards. They are at war with the Federation so it was really bad that the spy was able to give them important information.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Post #2 2/3/09 Meaning of the title "The Crucible"
After finishing "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, I was left wondering, "Why is it called 'The Crucible.' I never saw anything about a crucible in the book." So, I did a little research on dictionary.com. I found out that a crucible is a container made of a refractory metal that is used to heat substances to high temperatures or to purify a substance. It can also mean a severe searching, test, or trial.
I came up with a few different explanations for the title. A crucible is extremely hot when it gets heated so you don't want to touch it or be inside it. Salem turned into a giant crucible. No one wanted to be there because everyone was getting burned (hanged). Abigail got away before she was burned but it didn't end as well for John Proctor or some of the other townspeople.
Another reason for the title is that the witch trials were meant to purify Salem, just as crucibles are meant to purify metals. The witch trials started because people thought their neighbors were doing witchcraft. They wanted to cleanse their town of the evil people. Crucibles were invented to get the impurities out of the metal. The only difference is crucibles work and the witch trails failed horribly.
My last reason for the title, "The Crucible," is that is was a test of John Proctor. He was tested to see if his faith in God would waver. He was also tested to see if he would lie and stop standing for what he believed in. He passed the test. He almost signed the confession but he realized that it would tarnish his good reputation. At the very end, his morals were more important than living.
I came up with a few different explanations for the title. A crucible is extremely hot when it gets heated so you don't want to touch it or be inside it. Salem turned into a giant crucible. No one wanted to be there because everyone was getting burned (hanged). Abigail got away before she was burned but it didn't end as well for John Proctor or some of the other townspeople.
Another reason for the title is that the witch trials were meant to purify Salem, just as crucibles are meant to purify metals. The witch trials started because people thought their neighbors were doing witchcraft. They wanted to cleanse their town of the evil people. Crucibles were invented to get the impurities out of the metal. The only difference is crucibles work and the witch trails failed horribly.
My last reason for the title, "The Crucible," is that is was a test of John Proctor. He was tested to see if his faith in God would waver. He was also tested to see if he would lie and stop standing for what he believed in. He passed the test. He almost signed the confession but he realized that it would tarnish his good reputation. At the very end, his morals were more important than living.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Post #1 1/26/09 Nuclear Power
The Inauguration was on Tuesday, January 20. In President Barack Obama’s Inaugural address, he touched briefly on the hot topic issue of the environment and global warming. He said, “We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.” It is great that he wants to use alternative energy but solar and wind power aren’t good enough. Right now, about 1% of energy in America is provided by wind energy and less than 1% is from solar energy. Even if we double the amounts of solar panels and wind mills, the energy they produce will still be next to nothing. Solar and wind powers are good for the environment but they aren’t advanced enough to provide us with sufficient amounts of electricity.
We need to use more nuclear energy. It is cheap, safe, and clean, and it provides tons of energy. Advances in science now virtually eliminate nuclear waste. There are no downsides to nuclear energy. It is much better for the environment than burning coal and it is much more practical than wind or solar energy.
We need to urge President Obama to develop nuclear power plants to eventually replace the environment-damaging coal power plants that most of our energy comes from.
Information about nuclear power
We need to use more nuclear energy. It is cheap, safe, and clean, and it provides tons of energy. Advances in science now virtually eliminate nuclear waste. There are no downsides to nuclear energy. It is much better for the environment than burning coal and it is much more practical than wind or solar energy.
We need to urge President Obama to develop nuclear power plants to eventually replace the environment-damaging coal power plants that most of our energy comes from.
Information about nuclear power
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